In Wake of Accidents, Metro-North Railroad to Install Safety Devices

Metro-North Railroad to install safety devices on New Haven Line tracks.

Metro-North Railroad announced Friday morning in a letter addressed to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that it would begin installing shunts, safety devices that are meant to provide added protection for track workers in construction areas, within the next month on parts of its New Haven Line.

The letter comes days after the National Transportation Safety Board and Blumenthal urged Metro-North to install the signal protection devices.

“This step will help save lives,” Blumenthal said Friday in a statement. “It should be followed by more technologically advanced measures that enable trains to be warned and stopped when workers or others are in danger.”

Robert Luden, a track foreman, was killed by a train last month near a station that was under construction. Blumenthal says had this safety measure been in place then, it would have likely saved Luden’s life.